Number 26 of1956

IRISH NATIONALITY AND CITIZENSHIP ACT 1956

REVISED

Updated to 31 July 2023

Introduction

This Revised Act presents the text of the Act as it has been amended since enactment, and preserves the format in which it was passed.

Related legislation

Irish Nationality and Citizenship Acts 1956 to 2004: this Act is one of a group of Acts included in this collective citation, to be construed together as one (Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004 (38/2004), s. 16(2)). The Acts in this group are:

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1956 (26/1956)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1986 (23/1986)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1994 (9/1994)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2001 (15/2001)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004 (38/2004)

Annotations

This Revised Act is annotated and includes textual and non-textual amendments, statutory instruments made pursuant to the Act and previous affecting provisions.

An explanation of how to read annotations is available at

www.lawreform.ie/annotations.

Material not updated in this revision

Where other legislation is amended by this Act, those amendments may have been superseded by other amendments in other legislation, or the amended legislation may have been repealed or revoked. This information is not represented in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the amended legislation if one is available.

Where legislation or a fragment of legislation is referred to in annotations, changes to this legislation or fragment may not be reflected in this revision but will be reflected in a revision of the legislation referred to if one is available.

A list of legislative changes to any Act, and to statutory instruments from 1972, may be found linked from the page of the Act or statutory instrument at

www.irishstatutebook.ie.

Acts which affect or previously affected this revision

• Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 (18/2023)

• Diplomatic Relations (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2017 (33/2017)

• Gender Recognition Act 2015 (25/2015)

• Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2011 (23/2011)

• Adoption Act 2010 (21/2010)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2004 (38/2004)

• Immigration Act 2004 (1/2004)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 2001 (15/2001)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1994 (9/1994)

• Status of Children Act 1987 (26/1987)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship Act 1986 (23/1986)

All Acts up to and including Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2023 (25/2023), enacted 20 July 2023, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Statutory instruments which affect or previously affected this revision

• Gender Recognition of Foreign Births Regulations 2017 (S.I. No. 539 of 2017)

• Foreign Births Regulations 2013 (S.I. No. 47 of 2013)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 569 of 2011)

• Finance (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2011 (S.I. No. 418 of 2011)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (S.I. No. 284 of 2011)

• Foreign Births (Amendment) Regulations 2009 (S.I. No. 408 of 2009)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Fees) Regulations 2008 (S.I. No. 294 of 2008)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship Regulations 2005 (S.I. No. 1 of 2005)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship Regulations 2002 (S.I. No. 567 of 2002)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Declaration of Citizenship) Regulations 2002 (S.I. No. 196 of 2002)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Fees) Regulations 1996 (S.I. No. 291 of 1996)

• Foreign Births (Amendment) Regulations 1994 (S.I. No. 155 of 1994)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Fees) Regulations 1993 (S.I. No. 89 of 1993)

• Foreign Births (Amendment) Regulations 1988 (S.I. No. 341 of 1988)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship Regulations 1987 (S.I. No. 148 of 1987)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship Regulations 1986 (S.I. No. 261 of 1986)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Fees) Regulations 1986 (S.I. No. 260 of 1986)

• Foreign Births (Amendment) Regulations 1985 (S.I. No. 363 of 1985)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Fees) Regulations 1983 (S.I. No. 279 of 1983)

• Foreign Births (Amendment) Regulations 1981 (S.I. No. 259 of 1981)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship (Fees) Regulations 1980 (S.I. No. 137 of 1980)

• Foreign Births (Amendment) Regulations 1980 (S.I. No. 94 of 1980)

• Foreign Births (Amendment) Regulations 1976 (S.I. No. 273 of 1976)

• Foreign Births (Amendment) Regulations 1974 (S.I. No. 349 of 1974)

• Foreign Births Regulations 1956 (S.I. No. 224 of 1956)

• Irish Nationality and Citizenship Regulations 1956 (S.I. No. 216 of 1956)

All statutory instruments up to and including Courts and Civil Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2023 (Commencement) Order 2023 (S.I. No. 389 of 2023), made 28 July 2023, were considered in the preparation of this revision.

Court decisions which affect or previously affected this revision

• Damache v The Minister for Justice and Equality, Ireland and the Attorney General [2020] SCt. 14 October 2020, Dunne J.

• Damache v The Minister for Justice and Equality, Ireland and the Attorney General [2021] IESC 6, 10 February 2021, Dunne J.